Dog Days
by L.G. Lena
Summary: When Sakura gives the ultimate sacrifice to end the war with Akatsuki and Orochimaru for good, something backfires and lands her in a rather dogged predicament. KakaSaku
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own anything having to do with Naruto that I myself do not specifically create. This applies to all chapters as well, since I hate writing this thing everytime.

Dog Days

Chapter 1

She was there when they returned to the village, victorious. She was there when Naruto brokenly told Tsunade the good news, and the bad. She had seen her sensei break down, opening crying in a grief that surprised her beyond measure. She had seen Naruto cry, and even the newly-retrieved Sasuke had shed a couple tears. The village rejoiced that Orochimaru and the Akatsuki wiped out, and mourned the loss of the one who had sacrificed everything to bring it about. She was there when her former sensei and the man she looked up to finally cracked, his icy veneer shattering into broken sobs in the solitude of his apartment. She was there when they held the memorial to honor...her.

And through it all, no one noticed her, no matter how hard she tried. All they did was pat her on the head, briefly hug her or stroke along her back. No matter what Sakura did, she couldn't make anyone see past the form she had been twisted into. All they could see, was the large black dog she had become with vibrant green eyes. In the final fight, it had come to a showdown of the top powers, her disincluded. She had had to stand back and watch most of it, the speed and ferocity of the all-out ninja brawl had been terrifying and awe-inspiring. They had come upon Sasuke and Itachi as expected, squared off and ready to begin their final duel to the death, ignoring herself, Naruto, and Kakashi as they came upon the scene. What had shocked them all though into a standstill, was when Orochimaru had arrived as well.

She could only remember it in a haze, it had been so fast-paced and the amount of killin gintent had left her weak in the legs. One of the few things that stood out in her mind, was the shrill screeching of two chidori's meeting and repelling each other, Kakashi and Sasuke straining against each other. It wasn't until Itachi had fallen to the ground, one arm ripped from the joint and screaming in a way that had Sakura waking up shaking for nights afterwards, that the kunoichi finally saw her chance to act. The jutsu was extremely forbidden, only known by two at any one time. Passed down from teacher to student, it was a medical jutsu that hadn't been used in generations. One that required the ultimate sacrifice.

Her hands wove and danced through the set of seals, chakra reaching out to Itachi to draw him unwillingly into the ceremony. For it to work at full power, the jutsu required the willing death of the user, and the unwilling death of another. The older Uchiha was the perfect candidate, for through him she could send a large portion through him to strike and destroy all the Akatsuki. The other portion, would be reserved specifically for the man who had started this whole thing. The same man who currently had one hand wrapped around Sasuke's throat while his cold eyes slowly swivelled to her own. She smirked at him as the sequence neared its finale.

"Die."

How those reptilian eyes had widened in shock and just a hint of fear as he felt the power building, filled with killing purpose. But it was here that things started to blank out for the young girl. She recalled a shout from Kakashi's direction, and Orochimaru's hands flashing in a counter-jutsu. Surprisingly, Itachi had started forming a small set of one-handed seals, Sharingen eyes narrowed with hate at her. Her jutsu had finished, rushing forward to execute its intent as she fell backwards into the waiting darkness. There was a bright flash of light, three hits to her body, and then nothing.

When she woke up, she was on her side at the edge of the clearing. A loud ringing in her ears made her groan in pain, just before a scream ripped through the silent air, drawing a whimper from her lips as she sought to press her hands over her ears except they wouldn't move the way she wanted them too. Instead she looked for the sight only to see Naruto on his knees, fists clenched at his sides and his head still tilted back. It was raining, but somehow she coudl still smell the salt on him and knew he was crying. Kakashi was stood a little to the side, face pressed into one hand with Sasuke lying at his feet.

At the time, Sakura had sworn Sasuke was dead and that was why they were mourning. Stumbling on hands and feet, she had raced towards the dark-haired boy, she had to make sure for herself. And when Naruto slammed into her side and Kakashi blocked her path to the Uchiha, she was certain it was to save her feelings. Until she noticed the kunai in Naruto's hand, and his hard-set eyes. When she asked what the hell he thought he was doing, she had been the only one surprised by the growling bark that had exploded out of her...muzzle?!

She had broken away from them, scratching at her new mouth, yelping and whimpering at seeing her paws, which led to her looking over her entire new body. The two men just stood there, not sure what to make out of the scene as she fell to the earth and curled into a tight ball, tail over her eyes. She just let herself slip away into unconciousness, willing the entire thing to be a dream. And when she awoke, she was being carried by Kakashi while Naruto carried Sasuke. And she was still a dog. Even now, Sakura couldn't understand why they had brought her back with them when she had apparently 'attacked' Sasuke in their eyes. Maybe they had sensed her chakra?

But no, that wasn't it, for she had been set down the moment her head lifted, Kakashi dismissing her quietly. "Go home dog." Apparently it had been simple kindness towards a dumb animal. Besides, even as she tried she couldn't feel any of her chakra inside herself anymore.

So, being the good mutt she was, she did. And followed them all the way home with Kakashi and Naruto growling at her often to leave and go back home. They had even thrown a shuriken or two at her. There was no way to tell them though that she was going home. That they were her home, that Konoha was her home. But the pain of them not knowing who she was, tore her up inside to the point one night she had to howl her sorrow. Eventually the two had given up on trying to chase her off and just accepted her presence. It was embarrassing, but she helped wear down their resistance to her through tail wagging, tongue lolling, and general loveable-dogness. Sakura became second in their mind though as Sasuke awoke on the fifth night, groaning in pain and confusion. Her teammates didn't give a second glance as she laid down beside the fire, entering their camp for the first time and avidly watching Sasuke.

They had been ready to either fight him or help him as the Uchiha pushed himself into an upright position, pressing one hand firmly to his head. "Wh-where? Naruto? Kakashi?"

The blonde had bowled him over, wrapping his best friend in a hug. A fight had broken out between the two, but it had only been one of the normal scuffles they used to share. The curse seal had disappeared, leaving his mind un-fogged and his heart untroubled now that Itachi was deceased. Even Kakashi had grinned at the two, until the dark-haired boy asked the fateful question. "I remember the fight. I...I'm sorry for all the trouble...I can't even begin to explain, it was like I was in a fog of hate and anger." He looked at the two helplessly, before glancing around the camp. "I thought I saw Sakura there, where is she?"

Before she could bark at her name, Naruto had pulled out something from his pocket, handing it to Sasuke. Sakura had sat up, squinting in the firelight to see better, flinching when she saw it was her forehead protector. And it had more then one large splash of dried blood on it. Her sense of smell had amplified in this new form and she could smell it was her own blood.

"She saved us all." Naruto said quietly, hand clenching onto the protector tightly.

"I see." Dark eyes looked away. "I never got to tell her I was sorry. For everything."

It was a huge embarrassment to the young woman when she ruined the moment as her belly let loose a loud rumble. Her ears pinned back and she lowered her head in shame as three sets of eyes focused on her, but she couldn't control it. After five days of living off the few scraps of prey she had caught, all by pure dumb luck, Sakura was ravenous. Still, she hadn't lowered herself enough to steal from her own teammates, even though the fish roasting over the fire smelled so good.

"What's with the mutt?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shrugged. "No clue. It was there after..." He trailed off, unable to yet to speak of her death. "And well, its been following us ever since."

Dark eyes turned red as the Sharingen were activated. "Its eyes look like Sakura's did."

"Likely it was just some poor animal that came onto the scene at the wrong time and caught some of the backlash of the power." Kakashi murmured. "Either way, she seems pretty tame. I'm sure when we get home, a family will take her in."

So the rest of the three-day journey had passed, the only difference was Naruto catching an extra fish for her now. The moment she was returned to her real form, Sakura swore to buy the boy as much ramen as he could eat for a week straight. She even allowed him to stroke her, though only in moderate amounts. She did have her pride still afterall. And when they arrived at the Konoha gates, she walked right in with them, following them right into Tsunade's office. Surely her teacher could sense something of her, right?

But even there she was disappointed as her sensei simply asked where they had found the handsome dog. It was embarrassing when the woman had scratched behind her ears, but at the same time it had felt sooo good, her left hind foot had started tapping in bliss. And when they told her teacher of her 'death', she had rested her chin on the old woman's knee in silent comfort as the tears had flowed freely down the old woman's cheeks. It tore Sakura up inside, unable to relieve their sorrow and let them know she was still alive and right there with them. But she would do what she could in the meantime while she tried to figure a way to cure herself and make her identity known.

"You're all dismissed. We'll hold a ceremony for her at the memorial in two days. Sasuke, we'll also have to determine your punishment and reliability, whether or not you're fit to return here and live once more in Konoha." Tsunade decided, wiping the tears away and giving him a stern look. "I'll be sending a team of ANBU with you home, you're under house arrest until further notice. Also, who's taking her home with them?" She asked absently, waving at Sakura who was torn between staying and leaving with the three.

Team 7 looked between themselves, startled. "Merry Christmas." Kakashi replied with a faked eye-crease.

Some of her anger returned at the jounin. "I don't have time for a dog, you brat. You three brought her, you're not abandoning her. So one of you three can keep her until you find a new family to shove her onto."

And thus, did Sakura find herself following Kakashi home. Naruto it had been decided couldn't be trusted with a pet since he still had trouble taking care of himself. Sasuke had been absolute about no pets in his house and that he had no clue what to do with a dog. So, that had left only the silver-haired jounin, even though he protested that the only pets he'd ever had was a goldfish and a plant. Both of which he had managed to kill. But the other two boys argued he was used to dogs through his summons and she secretly agreed. Of course, listening to his threats of what he'd do if she chewed on his furniture or had an 'accident', Sakura was quite ready to risk living with Naruto instead. The feeling only intensified when entering her former-teacher's apartment had her sneezing violently in distaste at the rancid odor of unwashed clothes and dishes. The general mess and filth of the place was appalling.

"Great, even the dog is mocking me." Kakashi had muttered, shutting the door after her.

_God, I thought it was bad when I came here as a human! It reeks though now, my eyes are tearing up. And there's tons more clutter then before._ She padded around the apartment to his couch, glaring at the object of most distaste of his to her. A certain little orange book. With a flick of her nose, it was sent flying to the floor and she hopped up on the faded hunter green couch, curling up comfortably and looking for the remote. If she couldn't convince them through pantomime and barks who she was, maybe acting like an average human teenager would clue them in.

"Oh no, no animals on my furniture." She yelped when a steely grip snatched the scruff of her neck and bodily dragged her off the couch.

Glaring resolutely at him, she hopped right back up. Down she was dragged again and was forced to dodge a swat to her rump. Scooping up the Icha Icha book in between her jaws, again Sakura jumped onto the couch. She watched in satisfaction as Kakashi's eye widen visibly at the sight of his precious book in danger. And when his hand reached out towards her, she bit down just slightly, letting up as he withdrew it in fear of his darling. Again, the hand approached and again her teeth dug into the binding.

"I can't believe this. Drop it!" Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to shake her head in the negative as his look of anger was replaced with something else. Curiosity and wariness. "Drop it and I'll let you have the couch."

Thumping her tail happily, she made sure to give the cover a long, slobbery lick as she dropped it. The look of utter disgust as he picked it up between two fingers was worth the light smack on her muzzle. It was only the first of their mini-fights for the evening, including where and what she ate for dinner (No matter what Kakashi said, her nose told her the leftover mystery meal was spoiled), to a stand-off when he let her outside until he turned away ("Better not run off or its your head."), to finally where she was sleeping.

"I gave you the couch. I gave you some of MY dinner. I even gave into your delicate female decency for the bathroom. The bed, is asking for it." And with no qualms, he had again latched onto the scruff of her neck and dragged her whimpering out the door of his bedroom, closing it in her face.

So, pouting and sulking to herself, Sakura had made herself comfortable on his couch. It was true she didn't need the bed, but it had been fun to tease her teacher and frustrate him. The normally so-silent man was quite vocal it seemed when he thought there was no one but a dumb dog to hear. Still, for all his threats of sending her into the wild and unleashing some horrid jutsu on her, he had only hit her that once and even that couldn't be counted as a hit. The man apparently had an extreme soft spot for canines. While flipping through the channels on his TV and sitting next to her on the couch, she had moved to lay half on his lap to try and get another rise out of him. The jounin had responded by resting one hand on her back and nothing more, only shoving her off when he got up to head to bed.

The next two days were spent in an uneasy routine of her accompanying him around the town to his usual haunts and nights spent at his place with arguments over what she could do (shoving laboriously all his dirty clothes into the laundry room in a blatant attempt to get him to wash them) and what she couldn't do (attempt to throw out all his Icha Icha books). It wasn't until the night after the ceremony for her had taken place, most of the village turning out to honor the girl that had healed at some point a vast majority of the shinobi and that was credited with the defeat of Orochimaru. That night, from what had become HER spot on the couch, she heard the sounds of heavy breathing and could smell the salt of tears.

She hesitantly went into the silver-haired man's room to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, headband and mask gone and face pressed into one hand. There had been no protest this time as she climbed up next to him, pressing against his side. She herself was more then a little shocked to see not only his face for the first time, but at the knowledge that the tears slowly sliding down his cheeks were for her. And when the one arm not supporting his head went around her, seeking comfort, she gave him as much as she could. Who would have guessed that even the icy Copy Nin could need someone sometimes, that there was a human underneath all that indifference.

"I failed her. Just like everyone else." He whispered brokenly.

There had been no demanding she leave the room when at last he pulled himself together and stripped down to boxers for bed, sliding silently between the covers. When Sakura had tentatively laid down next to him, mind only slightly frazzled at the yummy picture of her ex-sensei 90 naked, his arm had only gone around her again. Everyone needed someone, sometimes. And for that night, and the nights afterward, she would be that person for him.

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A.N: Hmm, a little chaotic and off-the-wall I know. But I wanted to be lazy and get through the whole introduction part. And yes, I do know there's some major major OOC'ness going on. But too bad! Lol, its needed for this. Anywho, now that the whole intro chapter is done, it'll be a lot more smoother-paced and such. I'm having fun with Sakura's and Kakashi's rivalry. I kinda wanna create a feeling of, "Just who is the master?" for the story. Anywho, thoughts and constructive critism are always welcome. I know I have some spelling and grammar errors, but for some reason I'm just anti-spellcheck lately. Anywho, opinions and suggestions are excepted too since I don't really have too much of a clue as to where this is headed in all the time. It just came to my mind and my writing muse demanded it be written. So all I'm doing is just letting it write itself. Well, here's to hoping its well-liked. Ja ne! -Lena

P.S: There will be no beastiality of any sort either in this, before anyone starts to wonder.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fangs flashed in the early morning as her jaws cracked in a huge yawn. Rising to her four paws, she stretched her forelegs out, rump high in the air, before switching positions to shake out the back legs. With a quick once-over full body shake, Sakura hopped to the ground to pad over to the other side of the bed. A clock on the bedside table flashed at 8:05am. _Right on time._ She thought with satisfaction, starting the next step in her morning routine. Three weeks had passed since the memorial and Sakura still found herself as Kakashi's 'pet'.

Gripping the edge of the blanket comforter between her teeth, she walked down the length of the bed, pulling it back from the body underneath. Then, licking her nose to get the maximum effect even though it disgusted her somewhat, she rammed her cold and wet nose into the side of the peacefully sleeping Copy Nin. There was nothing more pleasing in the world to her in that moment, then the silver-haired man's undignified shriek. She quickly moved in, poking her nose into his neck as one hand sought for the blanket she had pulled out of his reach. _No more being lazy, Kakashi-sensei._

"M'up, I'm up!"

Just to be certain, she gave a deafening bark at him to hurry up. As embarrassing as it was, she really had to go and the young female had yet to learn how to open a door to get outside by herself yet. _So humiliating having to go outside. I swear, when I get my real body back, if I ever get a dog I'll devote a seperate room in the house to its own personal bathroom. This is just degrading._ She barked at him again to hurry up, pacing around his room. And men complained about women taking forever when he was just now rolling out of the bed. She bit down on one of his drawer's handles, tugging it open and burying her nose into the freshly laundered and folded cothes. After sitting in the washroom and howling until midnight, Kakashi had finally caved in and down the laundry. Yanking out the first pair of pants she saw, she dropped them in front of him, growling as he stared at them.

"You know, you were the one complaining about the clothes. I finally folded them and you ruin them." Sakura merely gave him a dirty look, wondering if she bit him if he would move.

Besides, the sooner he was up, the sooner he would make them breakfast. And damn, the Copy Nin could cook! After unsuccessfully trying to placate her with normal dry dog food, she had turned up her nose and refused to eat for two days, the man had simply started making double portions of his own breakfast. _If only I'd known he was so easily manipulated as a human._ She sighed, following him through the apartment and running out the door the moment it was open.

_I should get a dog door._ Kakashi thought to himself, watching as the black canine streaked past him and out the door. _Maybe I'd get some extra sleep if I did._ His lone eye looked longingly back at his bed, Sharingen tightly closed even in his own apartment. But the man knew better, that the dog would come wake him up for breakfast if she returned to find him back in bed and sleeping once more. _If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the mutt was human. But I've been unable to sense any sort of masked chakra._

Yawning, he ambled into the kitchen and noisily pulled out two frying pans and set them on the oven. In a half-asleep daze, the silver-haired man set about cracking eggs into one and dropping bacon and sausage into the other. _Coffee. Need coffee._ His mind managed to grasp onto that thought and he lowered the settings on the burners so that nothing would be black and inedible or worse, caught on fire. Laboriously, he remembered the amount of coffee needed and how to get it into his coffee maker so that the sacred drink could be brewed. And when the first drops of the dark liquid fell into the coffeepot, it was very nearly a sight that almost made the infamous Copy Nin cry in pure happiness.

Sakura returned, clambering up the steps to his door that had been left open a crack for her and shoved the door in with her nose. Slipping inside and backing into the door to shut it, she allowed herself a brisk full body shake before padding into the kitchen. Her claws clacked on the tile, stopping as she froze at the sight of her sensei looking about ready to hug his coffee maker. He ruffled her ears as he poured a large mug of the black liquid, drinking it straight. Green eyes rolled and she sighed at him, before perking her ears up at the delicious scent of their cooking breakfast. She quickly went to go sit at her spot next to his seat at the small dining table, resisting the urge to squirm in place as the man quickly whipped the eggs into fluffy, scrambled eggs.

In the end, she couldn't resist shifting around and taking in deep breaths as Kakashi finished, working on his third cup of coffee. And when he at long last set down a plate with her portion, she thought she showed amazing self control by eating delicately and not plowing right into it. She was surprised she hadn't become violently ill with all the food she was eating that had to be unhealthy for an animal. Perhaps her stomach was still that of a human? Still, she finished in half the time as her companion for the sole reason of getting to stare at him from the corner of her eye. Meal times and occasionally at night when he slept, were the only times the mask was removed and she was able to see his full face. Even after all the days that she saw him bared, it was always a thrill to see the smooth, clean lines of his face.

His mug was placed on the ground next to her so she could lap up the half-cup left as he gathered dishes and started washing them. Finishing the drink off, Sakura left the room to go flop lazily onto the couch. He would be at least another hour in getting ready, between a shower and getting changed and finding his weapons. Not too mention the all-important duty of deciding which Icha Icha book he should read for the day. Her eyes closed as the young female daydreamed about using his books as a new chew toy. Of course, that action would likely result in her being skinned alive and then turned into chickenfeed, but it was still a very appealing idea to try out.

It wasn't until she heard the muttered cursings of her jounin keeper that Sakura finally dragged herself out of her daydreams. He was looking for his kunai holder she was certain, since it was currently poking uncomfortably into her side. Normally, the mild-mannered girl would be inclined to keep her butt right where it was on the couch and enjoy the show of watching Kakashi scrambling and tearing the place apart. But, this morning she was impatiant to get going. Tsunade had sent a message last night that they were to meet in her office where she would tell them what she had decided to be Sasuke's fate. The boy hadn't been seen since the day of the funeral, undering going tortures and interrogations likely to determine if he was trustworthy and able to remain in the village.

So on the man's next sweep through the livingroom, she made sure to have the object in question resting on the small coffee table in front of the couch. Grunting in relief at finding the damn thing, the jonin strapped it around his thigh hurriedly. For once, he too didn't want to be late. "Come on." He growled out, moving towards the door.

It ws a bit of a surprise to bump into Naruto just outside his door, the young man leaning against the wall. He gave them a cheeky grin, falling into step next to his former teacher. "I knew she wouldn't let you sleep in, but I figured I'd come just to make sure. What do you think they've decided."

"Hard to know. We don't have our inside source to Tsunade anymore." Kakashi murmured, pulling out his chosen book for the day and hiding behind it. He felt the dull aching twist of pain in his heart that always popped up when any mention of Sakura was made.

Naruto winced, feeling that same pain. "Yeah."

Sakura hung her head low as she listened to the two men behind her, unable to assure them she was fine. Of course, that just may change in the next month. Snooping and eavesdropping in the bars Kakashi frequented had given her the knowledge that Kiba and Akamaru were away on a mission that was scheduled to end in several weeks. And what better way to announce herself, then to go to the one boy who could speak to dogs! She had considered Pakkun, but her ex-sensei seemed disinclined to summon the mutt. She dropped back to walk between her two boys, eyes slitting in pleasure as each one found the itchy spot behind her ears. And hopefully, by the end of the day, her third boy would be returned to her and she could focus all her energy on returning to them their girl.

Shizune waved them on ahead into Tsunade's office, doing a double-take at seeing the Copy Nin on time. But, considering what they were here for, she really shouldn't have been surprised that even Kakashi could be on time. "The dog has to stay out here boys. This is a serious matter."

Sakura stared at her, feeling the hair along her shoulders and back lifting in response to her rising anger. No one, Hokage's assistant or otherwise, would keep her from being there to hear the verdict. It was so small, she almost didn't realize it when a thin coil of chakra moved to her paws in preparation of leaving a crater somewhere. And then, just as she realized it was there, the small amount of energy had been spent; leaving her empty once more.

"She stays with me." Kakashi said simply, snapping his fingers and holding the door open for her and Naruto.

The Fifth looked up from her desk as they entered, sober and working for once. She motioned them in when a quick glance up showed her who it was, scribbling her signature onto a parchment before rolling it up and giving it to an ANBU standing at attention behind her. "For Hyuuga Neji."

With a nod, the masked ninja leaped out the window and started roof-hopping towards his destination. "Well, what's the news Baa-chan? Is he going to be released?" Naruto blurted out as soon as the man was out of sight.

"I see you have failed to teach him patience still." The woman muttered with an evil look to Kakashi. "As for his fate, through intense interrogation and questioning, we have arrived at our final conclusion. He was most willing in revealing the Akatsuki's headquarters and giving us any other information needed. And with Orochimaru and Itachi dead, we can see no more threat in him. So, we have decided he is to be released under the supervision of the remaining members of Team 7. If he proves himself worthy, we may even restore him to ninja status. As it is, he is required to wear chakra-draining bracelets until such a time." She made a motion towards the door. "He's out there waiting for you two to take him home."

The three of them blinked at her as the Hokage pulled out a rather sizeable bottle of sake and took a drink straight from the bottle. It had all been so...simple. _Sasuke-kun is back!_ The thought hit Sakura like a ton of bricks and she whipped around to paw at the door, waiting for one of the other two to open it for her. "Kakashi. Get your pet some tags and a collar. You know I don't allow strays. And don't be a brat and dump the bill on someone else." She fixed him with a warning glare that had his mouth closing with an audible _click_ of teeth.

"Baka!" Naruto plowed into the other boy and hugged him, much to the Uchiha's embarrassment.

"Get off me teme." Sasuke shoved the other boy off him, glaring. A low growl of annoyance escaped his throat as a hand fell on his head, tousling his hair, but he also smiled at his old teammates. And then he was forced to the ground as something large and furry pounced on top of him.

Sakura had un-thinkingly done what she normally would have in this situation, thrown herself at the poor boy. And with him pinned to the ground, she did what she had adamantly refused to do since first discovering her canine condition. She gave him a big, wet, doggy kiss. The sight of his horror-stricken face was enough to have Naruto double-over with laughter. A soft, choking sound signalled even Kakashi was chuckling at the boy, though desperately trying to contain it. Just for good measure, Sakura made sure to give his other cheek a long swipe with her tongue.

Her wagging tail smacked against a pair of legs before she was hauled off her teammate. "Stupid mutt." Sasuke growled, wiping his face on his sleeve. "Why do you still have it?"

Kakashi shrugged, one arm wrapped around Sakura's front half, making her stand up on her hind legs while leaning heavily on his arm. "She's a good alarm clock."

Naruto took Sakura from the older man, sliding both arms under her and lifting her up. She yelped and squirmed, trying to get back down to the ground before giving up and just letting her legs hang limply while giving the other two a pleading look. "Haha, she really grows on you after awhile anyway."

_Just one more month. I can live like this for one more month and then I'll have Kiba and Akamaru. Ohhh, I really wish Naruto would shift his arm just a little bit to the right, its pressing right into my stomach. I love him to death, but I really wish he didn't feel the need to pick me up every time he sees me._ She squirmed again, forcing the boy to shift his arm in just the direction she had wanted him to so that he could keep a hold of her. She had to admit, she was impressed with how strong the blonde had become. She was a good-sized dog afterall and a trip onto Kakashi's bathroom scale, the discovery of that little contraption had her eyes sparkling with restrained mirth, had showed the scales tipped at just over 100 lbs. After careful observation in said man's bathroom, Sakura had managed to pick out several breed traits confirming she really was a mutt. _But a good-looking one with wolf in her at least._

She tuned out the boys' talk of what had happened to Sasuke for him to gain Tsunade's partial trust, resting her chin on Naruto's shoulder as they walked out of the building. Regardless of what many scholars had said, she could still see the world in color. A fact that had given her some relief that this was a transformation that may be reversable. She sighed heavily at her predicament, causing the boy holding her to set her down on her paws. Accepting the pat to her neck, she quickly distanced herself from Naruto before he could pick her up again, going to walk between Kakashi and Sasuke.

"So, you two are now my babysitters huh?" Sasuke asked dryly, clearly not amused with that idea.

"Think of it more as caretakers. Babysitting implies there is money to be made and I have yet to see any." The remark came from behind a little orange book the silver-haired man's nose was currently buried behind.

His lone eye peeked over the top of the book as an ominous growl filled the air. He tapped the spine of the book on the bridge of Sakura's muzzle, effectively silencing her. "We agreed I can read them while on a mission, and techinically Sasuke is my latest mission."

"You talk to it almost like its human." Sasuke muttered, still sore about getting his face covered in dog drool.

Naruto laughed, lacing his hands behind his head. "You'd be suprised what Fluffy-chan can understand."

Sakura heaved a heavy sigh. "Fluffy-chan?"

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei refuses to name her or something so I named her."

"My dog, is not being called Fluffy-chan."

Naruto glared at the man. "You can't just call her dog. So until you decide, she's Fluffy-chan."

"No."

She slowly started to inch away from the two. _Naruto, I honestly prefer dog over Fluffy-chan. Ugh, why me?_ "Sakura would've known a good name." Her head whipped up at her name, looking over at the blonde. _Hmm...just maybe..._She gave a short bark for good measure, drawing their eyes to her.

They had halted at her bark and she wagged her tail good-naturedly, not liking their calculating looks and yet, taking hope from them as well. "You don't suppose..." Naruto began.

"It would be highly unlikely." Kakashi interrupted.

Sasuke stared at her. "Sakura." She barked again, waving her tail harder. "You said you found her after the battle in the same clearing right?"

"Yes." The lone obsidian eyes narrowed, trying to figure out his former-student's thinking. Sakura stared at him hopefully. Maybe, just maybe, he knew. "Did either of you call out Sakura's name?"

The two thought back to the battle. "Yeah, we both did." Naruto said slowly. "I did just before she released her jutsu and was hit, and Kakashi-sensei did when we couldn't find her body."

Sasuke nodded, folding his arms while still looking at the black dog in front of him. "Likely this dog ran away from whoever owned it and just happened to have been named Sakura by that family. So, when you two called out, it likely thought you were calling out to it."

Depression slammed into Sakura as they seemed to agree on this conclusion. Oh well, at least they'd call her by her name now hopefully. _Little steps, just remember nothing like this has ever occured before. So they're not likely to think of it. Well, Kakashi and Sasuke may, but Naruto definately would never. Still, its progress._ And that was all she needed for now, to know that at least they had gotten her name right. _No more Fluffy-chan!_ She quickly started walking as Naruto and Sasuke started up again, not seeing the calculating look from her third boy.

_There's something very weird and familiar about that animal._ Kakashi mused to himself, the answer on the tip of his tongue but just barely managing to evade his understanding. He shook his head once at his own musing, slouching and taking up his usual slow walk after his last two students. He wasn't too happy that the animal in question was named after the student he had failed, he would have rather not have had a daily reminder of yet another hole in his heart, but it did seem to fit her well. _Sakura. Will you haunt me now like Obito?_ Unthinkingly, he touched two fingers to his covered eye.

"Kakashi-sensei! Hurry up, I can smell the ramen from here and I'm hungry! And you promised to pay this time!" Naruto yelled at him, causing the older man to wince.

"Hai, hai." He called back dejectedly. _Why the hell did I promise to pay this time? Oh well, if I'm lucky I'll be able to slip away before he's done._ And with that firmly in mind, his day brightened just a little at the thought of being able to pass off another bill to his luckless students.

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AN: Sorry took so long, I ran into a bit of an artist's block half-way through and was averaging maybe three paragraphs a day. But yes, anywho, second chapter. Constructive critism is always welcome, so long as its helpful to me. Things like, "This sucks." Not helpful. Tell me what needs fixing. And yes, I do know about spelling errors, but my belief structure does not allow me to use spellcheck. Or something like that. lol. Okay, so maybe I prefer WordPad over Microsoft Word. Anywho, I'm done ranting, hope you all liked it. -Lena


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was embarrassing. Full-out embarrassing. And he would pay dearly for what he was making her do. Green eyes turned to glare at unfazed obsidian. _How DARE he do this to me! Oh, when I get my teeth on his book..._She could see the bulge in one pocket where said object currently rested. A round of high-pitched yapping had her crouching down and trying to press her paws over her ears. _Why won't it shut up?! My ears are going to start bleeding soon!_

"So you see rival, my dog has made yours cower in fear!" Gai laughed, proudly holding the silver leash attached to the yapping monstrosity of a pomeranian.

Kakashi opened his eye to look at the eccentric man, face screwed up in a painful wince at the high-pitched volume of the little dog who had yet to cease its yapping attack. "Did you say something?"

The Green Beast of Konoha twitched before clenching a fist. "Damn you are your hip new ways, Kakashi!"

She had finally had enough of the pesky little thing. Removing her paws from her ears, she moved to tower over the smaller dog and bared her fangs, growling deeply. Expelling her breath in a thunderous bark, the fluffy little dog yelped and ran behind Gai's legs. _Finally, silence._ "Good girl." Kakashi praised, patting her on the head and ignoring her growl directed at him. Oh, he was gonna get it though when she finally got her human form back. With its super-human strength and supreme chakra control too no less. His smile wouldn't be so pretty when a few of his teeth were shattered out of it. Or maybe she'd just sink her fangs into his hand. That idea had an appealing ring to it.

Gai blinked before scowling, reaching down to pick up and cradle the shivering little bundle of fuzz. "You may have won this round my eternal rival, but it will be your last!"

The sight of the eccentric jounin leaving at any time was a sign of celebration, except to Lee of course; but this time brought more relief to Sakura then any other before it. Who knew a dog could get migraines? She fell into step with Kakashi as he continued his strolling along the streets of Konoha, going back to her thoughts before being rudely interrupted with shrill yapping. She was starting to get exasperated, her boys were so much denser then she expected. Several attempts had been made by the girl to get them to realize just who she was. Initially, she had tried to scratch a message in the dirt, but the roads were too hard-packed and her claws weren't designed for writing. Plus, when she tried, all four claws dug into the earth so she made four lines instead of one. This had the unfortunate result of just tearing up the ground beyond comprehension of what she was doing. Experiments with writing had proven worthless. Her jaws were too powerful and usually snapped the pen in half, or pencil, and even when it didn't break, she could only make jagged up and down movements with the thing. A dog's jaws just weren't designed to make the movements needed to write an intelligable letter. Kakashi had finally hidden all writing utensils out of her reach, complaining about her 'teething'. She tried bringing them a sprig of cherry blossoms, but Naruto had only gone to lay it at the memorial that now bore her name. Hell, she had even tried barking in morse code.

It was always the same thing. All she recieved for her efforts was the occassional pat on the head and "Clever girl." It was down-right depressing at times. She was just about ready to resign herself to her fate as a furry companion to Konoha's number one lecher. Whom was surprisingly not as lecherous as she thought. He hadn't brought home one woman in all the time she'd been spending with him. Although, he had begun to stare at her more and more, with a look that was completely unreadable to her. Her eyes were on the ground and glazed over as she stumbled into her ex-sensei's legs, rebounding to the side a couple of steps before continueing to walk forward. She didn't even notice Kakashi had stopped, a quizzical look in his one eye.

No longer following, her feet switched to autodrive and led her to Ino's flowershop, the silver-haired jounin following her the entire way. It wasn't until her nose bumped into the cool glass of the front door of the shop that she finally stopped, looking up in surprise to where she was. When it connected as to just which building it was she was standing in front of, she vaguely tried to shoulder her way in, if only to see her best friend/rival, but the door was locked. It appeared Ino was either out or on a mission. She heaved a sigh, head hanging.

"Sakura." She ignored her male companion in favor of leaning her head against the glass. _Today just keeps getting worse and worse. It would have been nice to see Ino, maybe she would have the brains to figure things out. Men are really worthless in that area._ She thought morbidly. "Sakura!" Again he was ignored, as glaring at her paws appeared to be a much better thing to do then listen to the Copy-Nin. "Haruno!!"

"What?!" She snapped, though it came out more as a threatening bark, as she whirled to face him. Again, that whisper of chakra that had unknowingly returned to her, flared up in a brief moment of irritated anger. Why couldn't the man just leave her be?! Cracks arced out from where her claws dug into the earth as she growled at him with bared fangs.

But his dark eye had gone wide, the shock so wide-spread that he had even moved to lift the headband off his Sharingen to look at her through both eyes. Slowly, the blood-red eye began to spin, triggering her to automatically shut her eyes. She had seen him use it before, had seen Sasuke use his to deadly effect, and there was no way this little pup was gonna relive her worst nightmares. She started to back away, only to bump tail-first into the glass of Ino's shop. Whirling around, Sakura opened her eyes and took off, running away from the silver-haired man as fast as her four legs could carry her. Which was suprisingly fast indeed she discovered, much faster than her human form at any rate.

"Sakura!" Kakashi swore, slidding his headband back down to cover the Sharingan. He had been unable to see anything through it, other then a medium-sized black dog. But there had been a residual trace of blue shimmering in the animal, very closely resembling chakra. The man sprinted after the dog as its tail disappeared around a corner. _Its not possible, the Sharingan just confirmed it. But why, why did it react like that? Why did it go to Ino's place? Its too coincidental. Too many things are begining to add up._ "Sakura, come!"

His eyebrows drew together in concentration, the damned mutt was fast! For her part, Sakura was putting to effect all the advantages a dog's body had over a human's. Her claws allowed her to dig in and turn on a dime, she was considerably faster on four legs, and her lungs were larger which allowed her to maintain top speed longer. But she could hear the silver-haired man gaining on her every time she flicked her ears back. It would only be a matter of a few minutes before he caught her if she didn't shake him soon. _Why am I even running from him?_ She questioned herself, starting to slow down as that question became predominant in her mind. _Oh right, Sharingan._

"Gotcha!" She yelped as the man tackled into her, sending them both rolling several feet. She squirmed and kicked, accidently nipping him instinctively when his arm came to close to her mouth. "Kuso!" The jounin swore, wrapping his arms around the dog and standing up, hauling her bodily from the ground. She went limp instantly, too accustomed to Naruto doing the same thing.

_I could bite him, that would make him drop me. Course, that would also get me killed likely._ She sighed heavily, hanging her head and watching as her 'owner' started walking back the way they had come. "So, Sakura. Have you enjoyed being a peeping tom on your sensei?" Came the peeved and rather grumpy-sounding voice of the man holding her.

It was followed by a low groan as her head swung up abruptly and cracked into his jaw, causing his teeth to click harshly together. Low mutterings and many swears accompanied her being dropped to the ground. Green eyes stared at him as he rubbed briskly at his sore jaw, returning the wide-eyed stare with a nasty look of his own. Small tremors wracked through her canine body as she shook at the implications of what he had said. And what he had said!

"Holy Shi--!!" He hadn't even been able to register her movement as the large mutt had tackled into him, pinning him down with her forepaws on his shoulders and leaning down to growl in his face, teeth less then an inch from his eye. But the angry chakra that pulsed from her was one he was familiar with.

Then it was gone, just as suddenly as a huge pink, slobbery tongue engulfed his field of vision and Sakura licked him. "HARUNO!!!"

A rough, hiccup-y growl cued him into the fact Sakura was genuinely laughing at him. Her tail whipped back and forth as she looked down at him, bouncing slightly on her front paws in joy. Someone had figured it out at last! She was so happy, she could have licked him again. _Speaking of which, he tasted rather good. Lot better than Sasuke at any rate._ The man shoved her off himself, propping himself up on his hands to glare at her. Half of his Sharingan could be seen whirling in agitation before Kakashi yanked the headband back down over it. "You know, I could call that sexual harrassment. Really Sakura, you should have just told me when you were still human. I'm sorry to say, but I'm really not into animals. No matter what Genma may say about that goat in Suna."

A gag and a full bodied shudder wracked through the dog at that little information and she gave him a disgusted look. _I can't believe I LICKED him!! Ugh, goat germs!_ She did her best to spit, but a dog's mouth wasn't designed for that particular movement. "You know he was lying right?" Kakashi asked dryly in response to her violent reaction.

"_Yeah, suuuure._" She woofed out, rolling her eyes. Still, she couldn't stop her tail from wagging again as she remembered that he knew! And now he would help her and everything would be fine again! Well...almost everything anyway. Never had Sakura been more grateful that a canine couldn't blush than in that moment as a flashback image came to her. One of Kakashi sauntering out of his bathroom after a shower with only a towel on.

"Sakura, you're drooling." He said, feigning an air of indifference. But truthfully, the man was having a hard time concealing his emotions. Sakura was ALIVE! He hadn't failed her, not entirely anyway. She was alive and standing right in front of her, and of course now the weird habits of his dog made sense to him. And he was more than a little embarrassed it had taken him this long to figure it out. I mean, it really should have been obvious. _Tsunade's going to have a field day with this._

A tug on his vest snapped him back into focus and he looked down into Sakura's eyes. _I should have guessed the moment I saw the eyes. No one has eyes that shade of green except her._ He ruffled her ears, causing the woman-turned-dog to scrunch up her nose. "I suppose we need to go have a visit with the Hokage then."

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AN: Yeah, rather short and overdue. Sorry about that. Lot of things have been coming up and junk. But I got it done and hopefully everyone will like it. I hope I answered everyone's questions as to why a dog can't write and such. Anywho, this is really just a simple and short story, which is why its going so fast, I do realize the pace is rather rushed feeling at times. I have a different KakaSaku in the making and this is just a fun story I wanted to do. Only going to be maybe 10 chaps long, not one of my marathon 30 chap stories. Anywho, lemme know how you all liked it and any more questions about it that I can incorporate into the story. I'm thinking of writing a story next where reviewers vote on outcome and proceedings of each chapter. Lemme know your thoughts on that too. Love ya! Ja ne! L.G.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

If there was one thing the Copy-nin prided himself on, it was his intelligence. How else could he have survived so long in his career or dumped so many bills off onto his friends and students without them realizing it. Of course, it seemed his intelligence was starting to dull for it told him that the woman standing before him was becoming increasingly irate even though he had just delivered wonderful news. The man couldn't understand why his Hokage would be turning red with anger when she should be jumping in happiness. And why she was...grabbing...sake...oh god!

"HATAKE!!" The woman screeched as she let loose with the sake bottle, Kakashi just managing to dodge it. "Of all the half-brained, moronic jokes to pull! You've gone too far this time!"

Sakura crouched, belly to the ground, as a potted plant went flying next. She whined softly at her master, belly-crawling forward until she could rest her nose on the woman's knee. And was forced to dodge a smack on the nose as the Hokage's hand swiped at her. "Get this flea-bitten mutt out of here!"

She yelped as Tsunade planted one foot in her ribs and forcefully pushed her away. Sakura couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her sensei as furious as she was in this moment. And then Kakashi was standing in front of her and she could see from her lower angle, that his headband was up. "What makes you think I would EVER joke about something like this?" He asked in a very low, carefully guarded voice. "You, above all others, should know me better than that." He crouched slightly, shielding the cowering Sakura with his body from any further attacks by the Hokage.

All the anger seemed to just pour out of the older woman as she sank down into her chair, turning a speculative eye on the cowering dog in her office. "Hatake, I swear, if you're lying to me, you'll be cleaning latrines for the next three decades. Prove to me what you're saying is correct. Prove to me my Sakura is sitting here in this room."

Kakashi visibly relaxed, letting out a small sigh before replacing his head protector over his sharingan. He glanced down to where his former student lay and give a barely discernable nod. "She's the one to ask to prove it, not me."

Glancing wildly between both her sensei's, she cautiously belly-crawled back over to Tsunade. She stopped just out of arm reach, but the woman only crossed her arms and stared at her with unbelieving and weary eyes. _How to prove this?! It took me weeks with Kakashi-sensei and here I have five minutes! Wait...wait a second here! I've got it!!_ She gave the older woman one more look before slowly rising to her paws and padding around her towards the rarely-touched bookshelf.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the dog's actions. She hadn't seen the jonin give a signal to the mutt, not that she saw anyway. It wasn't until the black dog purposely stopped in front of a particular section of the bookshelf that her eyes widened and her jaw dropped the tiniest amount. _It can't be!! But...I only ever showed Sakura that!_ Her arms became uncrossed as emerald eyes looked over a furry shoulder and the dog actually _**winked**_ at her! Then, in a very precise pattern, the mutt grasped the edge spines of books and tipped them out, releasing them to show that they were fake books disguising switches. And as the dog grasped the last book between her teeth, a suspiciously orange book, Tsunade shot out a hand towards her. "Stop, Sakura!" Panic tinged her voice, catching Kakashi's interest.

Sakura stopped and turned around, wagging her tail. She yip'ed, prancing back towards the older two with a smug smile on her face. Oh yeah, she was good. But the most gratifying thing was seeing the tears that slid down the older woman's face from eyes that shown with so much hope and joy that Sakura was alive. Slowly the sannin sank to her knees on the floor and grabbed Sakura in a hug, burying her face into the dog's thick neck fur. "I thought I'd lost you." She whispered, tears soaking into Sakura's fur.

The large dog whined, resting her chin on her shishou's shoulder. Kakashi coughed discreetely, catching the older woman's attention. "There's a problem however."

"What problem?" Tsunade asked, remaining on the floor with an arm around Sakura. She felt the desperate need of a mother to keep a child in constant physical contact after a major crisis. Afterall, her apprentice was the closest thing the old woman had ever had to a daughter.

"How do we change her back? Sakura is more then adept enough to change back on her own if she could." Sakura's ears pricked and she knew she would have been blushing if she'd been human. Kakashi simply did not compliment people like that. It gave her warm fuzzies in her belly. "And I know of no jutsu that could do this, and so know of no cure."

A frown pulled at Tsunade's lips. Truth be told, she had no idea of a cure either. Something like this had never happened in her lifetime and had never been mentioned in any of the numerous books she had read through-out her life. Absently she scratched behind Sakura's ears, the woman-turned-canine attempting to repress the urge in her left hing leg to start tapping in ecstacy. "I need Jiraiya. While you're at it, summon Neji and Shikamura. I'll need to contact Mist and Sand, see if they know of anything." She sighed heavily. "If I knew what had happened, this would be easier. I don't suppose you've learned how to speak have you?" Tsunade asked Sakura.

"Woof." Was all she got in reply. And judging by the gleam in those green eyes, Sakura was barking with the utmost sarcasm.

The blonde woman deflated slightly. "I didn't think so. Knowing you, you've tried communicating with everyone you know. I think we're on our own for this one." A hand was swept through her hair as Tsunade stood up. "Hatake, get your ass out of here already and do what I told you to do."

The white-haired man nodded briefly, pausing at the door to look at Sakura. She squirmed where she sat on the floor, wanting to spend time with Tsunade, but compelled to leave with Kakashi. "Go, I know you want this problem solved as quickly as possible. There will be plenty of time for us to talk in the near future." The Hokage said with a gentle smile, waving with one hand for her to go. Sakura nodded before leaping after Kakashi. "And Hatake."

A lazy obsidian eye blinked. "Hai?"

A vicious smile spread across the blonde's face. "Seeing as how you have a young lady and no dog in your house, I'm going to have to insist that Sakura-chan give me no reason for impaling you on a staff for indecently exposing yourself to her."

For one of the few times in her life, Sakura had the rare oppurtunity of seeing her teacher, the second most perverted man in Konoha, flush a deep red. He coughed and spluttered several times before managing a squeaky, "Yes, ma'am."

--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--

Finally, the day had finally come. Kiba and Akamaru were returning, were actually in a meeting going over their mission report with the Hokage at that very moment. _Now I won't have to rely on that damned mutt and his snotty attittude._ Kakashi had been quick to summon Pakun, in an attempt to ease communications between him and Sakura. However, the two only eventually ended up snarling and growling at one another. _His fault, telling things I wasn't saying._ She growled from her position sprawled out on the tile flooring of Kakashi's kitchen. A single dark eye looked down at her from where its owner was cooking several thick strips of bacon.

"I should think, you would be happy today." He mused outloud, earning a louder growl directed at himself. "You're the one who chose to stay here. Don't take your temper out on me."

_Well, either its stay with Ino and listen to her fuck a new boy every night. Um, no. Or stay with Sasuke, who's an emotionless prick and says I shed too much. No thanks. Or Naruto, who has all of one inch of floor visible underneath all his clothes and instant ramen cups. Double no._ She sighed, not even raising her head as he set a plate filled with various meats down in front of her. Something was...off. She didn't feel right today.

Her tongue darted out to drag a strip of rare bacon into her mouth. Even with all her medical knowledge, Sakura couldn't place what was wrong. _Doesn't help I'm a dog. Maybe I have distemper?_ She had woken up hot and itchy. And restless. And most annoying of all, was how she seemed to focus so keenly on Kakashi's voice. The black dog shifted restlessly, distracting herself by standing up to finish her breakfast. _Kiba will know, his family is an expert on dogs as it is._

"Its time." Kakashi muttered, gathering dishes and placing them in the sink to be washed later. Truth be told, he was just as eager to have a reliable translator.

Sakura pushed past him as soon as the door was opened, shivering at the feel of fur sliding against the fabric of his pants. A quick, rough, full-body shake helped dismiss the feeling, until a hand landed on her head and rubbed behind her ears. "No need to rush, he'll be there." She whined pitifully, both trying to crouch away from that hand, and trying to press up harder into it. It just felt so damnationably good! Kakashi frowned, removing his hand and watching as she sidled up to him before abruptly leaping away. _She's acting odd today._ He mused to himself.

A movement caught his attention and he looked to find a dog pacing them, eyes trained firmly on Sakura. She had noticed the animal too and bared her fangs to snap and snarl. Her hackles raised threateningly and her gait became stiff-legged. She didn't know where the anger had come from but for some reason, the dog, male her nose told her, was pissing her off. The hound got the clue, dropping back and sniffing at the air. A voice called his name from a house nearby and he whined as he went to obey his master.

Even so, Sakura continued to growl lowly and her hackles remained slightly raised. "Sakura?" Her ears pressed back flat in annoyance and she looked at him over her shoulder. She broke into a ground-eating lope as the Hokage's tower came within sight, forcing the older man to quicken his pace also.

She barreled into the door without slowing down, using her shoulder to force it open. Her nose worked, scenting the air to allow her to follow the right scent trail into the room where Kiba and Akamaru were awaiting them. And then snarled in frustration to find the door leading to them to be one that was non-dog friendly. It had a twist knob. "If you ask nicely, I'll open it for you." A happy little eye-crease formed above the Copy Nin's mask as he grasped the door knob.

Forcibly, Sakura made herself sit down and thump her tail to appease the man. _There, that's as nice as it gets. Now open the damn door!_ And like magic, the door was opened for her to bound inside.

And abruptly stop. Another shiver wracked through her body and the itching increased. Since when had Kiba and Akamaru looked so...delicious? Kiba sniffed, his nose wrinkling as he whirled around. "Hatake-san! Would you remove your bitch from here? What were you thinking bringing her around Akamaru when she's like this?! And where's Sakura-chan?"

_Oh god, how did I never notice how nice Kiba's voice was? Wait...what did he call me?!_ Her fangs bared again and she barked threateningly. _**'No one calls me a bitch! How about I knock your head clean off?!**_ She snarled at him, watching his eyes widen in surprise.

A discreet cough dragged their attention to the silver-haired man. Even Akamaru managed to stop looking at the surprising new dog. "I don't believe Sakura-san appreciates you calling her, what was it, a bitch?" His eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean by, 'when she's like this'?"

"S-S-Sakura!?"

_**'Oh shit.'**_ Akamaru murmured. He looked at the green-eyed dog that was still bristling in front of him. If it truly was the pink-haired human, he had seen first-hand what devastating strength she possessed. Still, even the knowledge of that could only dampen the immense problem at hand.

Kakashi coughed as Kiba scratched his head and explained how Sakura really was a bitch since she was currently a female canine. It was only resulting in spiking Sakura's anger levels. "I said, what did you mean by 'when she's like this'?"

A fang appeared in a wolfish smile as the boy leaned his weight into one leg, one hand resting on Akamaru's neck in both a calming and restraining gesture. "Tell me, has she appeared to be...different lately? Besides her obvious appearance. Perhaps, Sakura can tell me herself." He looked at her with a wide grin. It was all too obvious how oblivious they both were to the current predicament. "Feeling restless?" Hesitantly, Sakura nodded. "Over-heated?" Another nod. "Like a million bugs were swarming through your fur?" An even slower nod. She didn't like the amused look he had. "Can't seem to take your eyes off anything male and related to or is a canine?"

Kakashi, definately, did not like the idea forming in his mind. Nor the short jerk of Sakura's heading nodding in agreement. "Would you like to know what's wrong?"

_God, he is annoying! Of course he knows I do!_ She growled at him to hurry it up, not liking the glance shared between man and his own dog.

_**'You're in heat.'**_

"She's in heat." They both chorused together.

Her jaw dropped open slightly and her muscles froze. _Well, that explains quite a bit. I think I'm in trouble though._

--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--

AN: Huzzah! I updated two stories in one day! God I am so proud of myself. And yet another cliffy! So yeah, this is going to be a rather short story. I think maybe only another five chapters tops. I'm trying to write more often, really i am. It just isn't working very well so please bear with me. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. I'm looking forward to writing the next. Please R&R to give me tips about what you liked and what you didn't. Love y'all!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

His fingers kneaded his temples. the agony of the migraine piercing his head. It had been only three days, but it felt like three years. Bloodshot eyes opened as claws and legs tangled around his own. She was rolling on the carpet, trying to scratch everywhere at once. Outside his apartment, Kakashi could hear at least three mutts barking and howling up to her. And then worst part came. She stopped, panting in exertion before hazy eyes rolled around to focus on him. Her eyes demanded he help her, but the man was lost. The silver-haired jounin had gone once against Kiba's advice.

They had spent not even an hour with him and Akamaru that day, before Kiba had been forced to leave. After all, Akamaru was a male dog, no matter how intelligent and well-behaved. He had also coughed out something about his own sense of smell being affected. Before they parted ways though, he had been sure to impart some advice on the older man. "Keep her inside as much as possible. We'll talk more when she's through this. Don't summon your dogs. I'll go to my family and see if any of them have any clue on how to solve this." He patted Sakura on the head as he headed for the door, keeping carefully between her and his big white dog. Just before he left though, the brunette looked over his shoulder. "And try to forgive her anything she does. She can't help it."

A nose poked into his thigh and she whined miserably. The day after their unsuccessful meeting with the young wolf-boy, Kakashi had made the fatal mistake of summoning Pakun to try and understand everything Sakura had been trying to tell him. The little dog had withstood all of ten seconds before he had tried to...do provocative things to her. He was now healing from a gash in his foreleg from Sakura biting him. To make it worse, the man hadn't had a decent night, or day, of sleep in two nights. Day in and day out, dogs of all sizes and breeds would howl outside his window. He couldn't even summon any of his own to chase them off, because they were all male!

"You make my life hell, you know that." He muttered, wincing as she dug a fang into his leg briefly. Slowly, the woman-turned-canine hauled her body up onto the couch he was sitting on, nuzzling under his arms to sprawl out on his lap. She buried her nose into his side, taking a small amount of comfort in his scent and even more as his fingers obediently scratched along her spine. _Oh god that feels good!_

Her tail thumped in pleasure and she squirmed closer to him, arching into the relief he provided from itchiness. Still, it wasn't enough. What she really needed was a really nice and rough..._NO! I will NOT give in to thoughts such as that!_ She shook her head before it found its way into the folds of his shirt again. She whined miserably, wishing more than ever to be back in her normal human body. _I would give anything for Tsunade-sama to send a messenger here right now saying she found an answer._

A heavy knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts, causing her head to perk up and scent the air. _Shizune?_ Kakashi lifted the dog off his lap, placing her down in the spot he had been sitting and made his way to the door of his apartment, staggering only twice in the process. Not bad considering his exhaustion. A letter was thrust into his face the second the door was opened, causing him to squint his one eye in order to make out what it was. A complaint against the noise of the dogs around his building.

"Tsunade-sama wants you at the Hokage's office immediately." She said in a clipped tone, her stern expression melting as Sakura leaped off the couch and bounded to the door. "She may have a solution for you, Inu-chan."

The woman gave a very undignified shriek as she was bowled over by an ecstatic Sakura, who gave her a slobbery kiss, then leaped back at Kakashi. She grabbed the edge of his vest in her teeth and began to bodily haul him out the door. Something was prickling at the edge of his senses, warning him it wasn't a good idea to be going outside just now, but his poor mind couldn't concentrate on anything but sleep at that moment.

It didn't hit him until Sakura let go of him in order to shove the door to the outside open with her shoulder. "Sakura, wait!"

He groaned as the hounds outside eagerly pushed their way inside to see the female that had their attention. Immediately her ears laced back and her hackles rose, fangs bared. It only took a matter of moments to drive the dogs away from her, but that didn't stop the blood that splattered from the bites she gave them from staining the wood of the floor. And walls. Sighing, the white-haired man lifted her up into his arms and bounded onto the rooftops.

"Serious, hell." He muttered at her, trying to watch where he was going through his bloodshot eye. His answer was a tentative lick to the cheek and her ears folding back into the most pathetic pity-the-puppy look. "Yare, yare. I'm only doing this because you're my favorite."

Her tail thumped against his arm as she snuggled into the warmth of his arms, chin resting on his shoulder and eyes slit against the wind streaming past them. The sensation of the air blowing through her fur was a wonderful distraction from the itchy, hot sensation that had been plaguing her. _So is Kakashi-sensei's scent. Mmmm, sandalwood._ Without thinking, she darted her tongue out to see if he tasted as good as he smelled, causing the man to give a very undignified yelp as the hot, wet sensation traveled up his neck.

His one eye glared down into the happy, glazed ones she directed back at him. "I'm calling that sexual harassment."

She ignored him, more than thankful that dogs were incapable of blushing. _What was I thinking? Licking Kakashi-sensei like that!_ The rest of the journey passed in silence between the two with Sakura doing everything she could to make no movement or draw attention to herself. _Everything will be okay when we see Tsunade-sama. Besides, I could say that I had a momentary lapse into the mind of being a real dog. No one knows what it's like to be like this._ A yelp squeaked out of her throat as Kakashi leaped onto the ground outside the Hokage's tower, setting her down gently and wiping quickly at his neck.

She stumbled a bit, re-orientating herself before lunging towards the tower's doors, scrabbling at them with her paws until the jounin opened them for her. Her tongue lolled out as she panted in excitement, not even caring how undignified it may seem. Her tail smacked repeatedly against her companions legs, unable to control the frantic waving of it. _I'm gonna be human again! SqueeI_ She rushed by Shizune's desk and tried to shoulder the door to Tsunade's office open.

"If you sit like a good girl, I'll open it for you." Kakashi said with a little eye crease. He coughed into one hand and opened the door as bared fangs snapped shut inches from his face. _If she ever learned to control chakra in that form…_He shuddered at the thought of what a chakra-filled bite would do to him. Her punches were bad enough already.

Giving herself a good shake, Sakura calmly padded into the room, earning another amused little eye crease from her older companion. She went and sat in the middle of the room, calmly waiting for her sensei to finish her paperwork, the perfect picture of patience. On the outside at least. _Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! I'm dying here! Look at the puppy! I'll give you sake!_ She was so glad she wasn't a cat in that moment, with a spastic twitchy tail.

"Yo!" Kakashi slouched into the room, book out and nose buried in it.

Tsunade looked up at him briefly. "The path of life didn't lead you astray I see." She commented dryly before signing one last paper. "Sakura, I'm sorry. I have yet to find a permanent cure. There is hope though, before you give up." She added the last hastily though as the dog's ears drooped and her head lowered.

_Hope? What kind of hope?_ She couldn't stop the small whine that came out at the thought she still wouldn't have her normal body back. Fingers dug into the thick fur at the back of her neck and scratched there. Her left hind foot twitched in pleasure and she relaxed again. An eyebrow rose up on the blonde's face at the exchange between the two. But, then again, Kakashi was a dog person.

"I said I hadn't found a _permanent_ cure. I found something that may work temporarily." Sakura's tail whipped back and forth, making her wiggle a bit where she was sitting. "There is a problem." Tail not wagging. "We used several test subjects, and the longest we've been able to convert a form, has been two hours. And it's so taxing on the body; you don't dare preform this jutsu on yourself more than once every three days. It's not much, but it is a start."

The sannin got up out of her chair to walk closer to the two. "I'll show you how to do it the first time. Sakura won't be able to perform this herself, so you'll have to do it for her. I'm sorry, it's going to hurt."

Kakashi twitched, but nodded, revealing his sharingan so he could copy the technique. The set of seals of long and complicated, Tsunade making sure each was correctly formed in proper order before placing one hand on Sakura's head and forcing all the built up chakra into her body. Something between a yelp, growl, and a scream came from her as she dropped to the flooring, writhing in pain. Her legs lashed out and jaws snapped reflexively on nothing as bones grated and twisted themselves into new shapes and sizes.

Both of the older shinobi stepped back, wide-eyed as the watched the dog slowly melt away, fur shedding off and body warping into that of a young woman. A young, naked woman. _She's quite a bit better endowed then I realized_. Kakashi absently thought to himself, thankful the mask hid his expression. _Hmm. Floor._ An intense pain radiated from his face and skull as his eyes stared up-close at the floor. Slowly he peeled his face off from said floor, rubbing the back of his head where Tsunade had hit him.

The older woman had grabbed a blanket from somewhere and was wrapping it around her student as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Emerald eyes looked down at her hands, her arms, then at the rest of her body, a brilliant smile lighting up her face before she threw her arms around the blonde sannin. Chakra rushed through her body again and colors got a lot brighter. She couldn't hear or smell so well and the itchy, hotness still lingered, but she was human again!

"How?" She asked hoarsely, coughing a little as vocal cords were used for something other than barks, growls, and howls. She looked up as a hand gripped her shoulder and looked up into the onyx eyes of her old teacher, for once alive with emotions.

As if remembering her dignity, the older woman disentangled herself from the younger, and then crushed her to her ample chest once more time. "It was Shikamaru. It's only temporary, but he found a way to combine a genjutsu with several ninjutsu. In effect, it's an illusion that is real. A true transformation, though only a temporary one, that's similar in a way to Naruto's or the Kazekage's transformations." She discreetly wiped away the tear trails that covered her cheeks. "We're actually looking into a way to make it a permanent transformation if we can't reverse what happened to you. Which, you can finally tell us."

Sakura nodded, gathering her legs under her and pushing off the ground to stand up. Her legs shook with the effort, her body un-used to walking on two legs instead of four now. A strong arm caught her around the waist as she toppled forward, preventing her from collapsing back to the ground. Kakashi supported her until Tsunade had brought a chair over for her to sit in.

"Th-thank you." She coughed again, her throat horribly dry and raspy. "Water?" she asked miserably, knowing she wouldn't be able to get it herself without crawling.

A bottle was produced from somewhere behind the Hokage's desk and handed to her. _She never has anything but sake here, except when…when she's pulling research all night._ Guilt hit her at the thought of how many sleepless nights her sensei had been enduring for her sake. "I don't remember much. But I'll tell you everything I do."

It took a long time to re-tell the events of that day and everything she had seen, heard, and done. Often times, her throat stopped working properly, vocal cords seizing up at all the sudden use. She looked nervously at Kakashi as she explained her use of the lethal jutsu, afraid of speaking of it in front of him. But Tsunade neither stopped her, nor told him to leave; they both just kept listening with a surprised and pained look in their eyes. They questioned her about the jutsu Orochimaru and Itachi had been preparing, but she couldn't remember what the sequences of hand symbols had been. Sometime in the middle of it, Shizune entered with a fresh skirt and shirt for Sakura to pull on, after Kakashi turned away.

Two hours had nearly passed when she finally finished telling every last detail she could remember. A fine trembling had set into her bones, and she knew her time in human form was coming to an end. She concentrated her chakra towards holding on to the jutsu just a little bit longer. "I'll report this to Shikamaru." Tsunade said tiredly, rubbing a hand across her face. "Now that we have one of the three puzzle pieces, maybe we can figure out the other two. Hn, never expected you to actually use that jutsu, you know. I'm glad it failed. Dismissed!"

She blinked at the sudden order, smiling as her teacher went back to signing paperwork and hiding her face behind her bangs. It still didn't hide the teardrops that fell to the desk. Wearily, she rose out of the seat, leaning heavily on the back of it to stay upright. "Hai. Arigatou, shishou." A hand waved her away absently, but the young woman knew the sake bottle would be out in celebration the second they left.

An arm snaked around her waist again and she clung to the Copy Nin for balance as they began to make their way out. "Hey, brat." They halted, looking back at her. "If you touch her, just once inappropriately, I will personally guarantee you never have a child."

The hand on her waist twitched and he stood up a little straighter. "Hai."

Sakura giggled at how the firm hold loosened considerably, as if she were glass or on fire. Her legs were steadier, but still trembled and the going was slow. She made it outside the tower before they gave out, chakra no longer able to hold off the transformation. Her teeth ground together to hold off the scream as her bones began to shift again. Dimly she noted wind rushing into her face as the terrain melted away into a blur, Kakashi carrying her…somewhere. Her spine cracked and popped as it re-aligned her neck and a tail began to sprout. Fangs sank into his vest when her fingers retracted and became paws.

She was jolted roughly suddenly; eyes she didn't know had closed popping open. They were on the deck to his apartment and he was shouldering the door open. Eyes snapped shut again as her face became warped, lengthening into a muzzle and ears stretching. She wasn't sure how long it took, swimming in fiery agony and pain, but at the end of it, all she could do was lie on the couch she had been deposited on and pant, whimpers coming from her. A comforting touch stroked along her neck and back, a bowl of water set within her reach. _Oh, I really don't want to have to go through that every time._ She thought groggily, lapping at the bowl a couple times.

"They'll figure something out." She rolled an eye up at him, wagging her tail once in appreciation for what he was doing for her. "I suppose this means I still have to live with you." She snorted, lifting her head enough to swipe her tongue at him, the man dodging. "Couldn't have done that earlier?" He teased, hiding the concern and worry he felt behind his typical eye crease. He fingered the shredded patch of vest that covered his heart. "Who knew you were such an animal, Sakura-chan."

He yelped as fangs nipped him in the side, rubbing the spot and glaring. "I'm building a doghouse tomorrow." She panted laughter at him, laying her head down again as a deep weariness settled into her bones. Nevermind that her pillow was his lap, would serve him right to be trapped there till she woke up. _Shishou will figure it out, I know it. It's a start at least! I just don't know if I can keep going through that._

The infamous Copy Nin sighed, stripping his protector off and running a hand through his hair. Light snores were coming from the canine in his lap, but he couldn't be happier. _It really is her, she's alive._

…

AN: Yeah, yeah. I know. Very rushed, but it's been awhile and I just wanted this chapter out. I think I'm a little over the half-way point now. Sorry for OOC-ness, this chapter was just really bothering me and I wanted it done! Now, to have some fun with the next one lol. Again, sorry this isn't that great of a chapter, I really just wanted it done and over with so I can get into the groove of Naruto again and start finishing up this story and my Sakura-Gaara. While writing a Luffy/Nami lol. Promise, next chapter will be better.


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